HPLC-MS/MS separation for the tobacco alkaloids nicotine, nornicotine, cotinine, norcotinine, trans-3’-hydroxycotinine, and anabasine.
Since the introduction of electronic cigarettes in 2007, their use has increased worldwide as an alternative to conventional tobacco cigarettes. Electronic cigarette liquids (e-liquids) can contain nicotine, a highly addictive drug that is toxic in high doses, may increase heart attack risk, and can affect reproductive health. Studies have shown that nicotine can also interfere with memory and attention processing especially in adolescents.
Forensic toxicologists face an ever-expanding list of compounds for analysis. This note presents work done using a next-generation triple quadrupole mass spectrometer with fast SRM acquisition speed for quantitation of 122 analytes in a single chromatographic run, where scan speed does not impact sensitivity or quantitative performance. Compounds analyzed include opiates, opioids, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, amphetamines, tricyclic antidepressants, illicit compounds, and more. For forensic use only.
A Thermo Scientific HPLC system is applied with the Thermo Scientific Syncronis aQ HPLC column for the analysis of alkaloids in less than three minutes with UV detection at 254 nm.
The Thermo Scientific Acclaim Trinity P1 column was used to separate nicotine and its counterion. The nicotine and salicylate were separated using a phosphate buffer system to permit isocratic elution and UV detection at 210 nm. Alternative wavelengths are 258 nm for nicotine and 296 nm for salicylate.
